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NFFE Work on Federal Salary Council Leads to Proposed Rule to Help 62,000 Federal Employees

Wednesday, July 11, 2018

(National Federation of Federal Employees)

On Monday, July 9th, the
Office of Personnel Management (OPM) issued a
series of proposed regulations affecting
approximately 62,000 General Schedule (GS)
employees across the country. These regulations
establish four new locality pay areas, make
changes to the definitions of existing locality
pay areas, and make minor clarifications to the
names of two locality pay areas.

As a
member of the Federal Salary Council
(FSC)—the advisory body on GS federal pay
areas—NFFE voted last March to add four new
areas, amend two areas, and expects to consider
additional changes soon. The locality pay
area system is used for federal employees to
appropriately account for cost-of-living
expenses that likely pose a challenge for those
living in larger metropolitan areas. The
boundaries of these areas are based on
extensive statistical analyses, and consider
factors such as labor market and commuting
patterns, practices of similar employers in the
area, and comparison of GS and non-federal pay
rates for the same levels of work in each
locality pay area.

Based on the
recommendations of the FSC, OPM has decided to
establish four new metropolitan areas with pay
gaps averaging more than 10 percent above that
of the pay area known as “Rest of U.S.”.
These areas will be known as
Birmingham-Hoover-Talladega, AL;
Burlington-South Burlington, VT; San
Antonio-New Braunfels-Pearsall, TX; and
Virginia Beach-Norfolk, VA–NC. The proposal
also adds McKinley County, NM to the
Albuquerque-Santa Fe- Las Vegas, NM, locality
pay area and San Luis Obispo County to the Los
Angeles-Long Beach, CA, locality pay area, and
changes the names of two locality pay areas for
clarification. Locality pay rates for the
new areas will ultimately be set by the
President after the regulations go into effect.

“NFFE is proud to have
recommended these changes to the pay areas
which helps our members and improves the local
economies in which they live and work,” said
NFFE National President Randy Erwin. “These
changes will help slightly to minimize the 32%
federal-private pay gap, and it will support
agencies that desperately seek options to
improve recruiting and retention efforts.
Responsible pay area designations are critical
not just for the financial wellness of federal
families but also for the economic strength of
communities across the
country.”